Splitting machine



Feb. 23, 1932. H E. ELLIOTT 1,846,480

SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 2:5, 1929 3 sheets-sheet 1 'Feb. 23, 1932. H, E. ELLIOTT 1,846,480

SPLITTING MACHINE Filed Sept. 23, 1929 s Sheets-Sheet '2 Patented Feb. 23, 1932 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFEOE HAROLD E. ELLIOTT, OF LEICESTER, ENG-LAND, ASSIGNOR TO UNITE-D SHOE MA- CHINERY CORPORATION, OF PATEESON, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY SPLITTING- MACHINE Application filed September 23, 1929, Serial No. 394,703, and in Great Britain October 9, 1928.

This invention relates to machines for splitting leather or similar sheet material, and is herein illustrated as embodied in a machine forsplitting the end of a sole.

In the manufacture of shoes having wooden heels, it is the practice to form at the heel end of the sole a thin flap which is shaped into conformity with the breast of the wooden heel after the latter has been attached to the sole.

to In other types of shoes, it is the practice to split the heel portion of the insole, forming a thin flap to cover the clenched ends of the heel-attaching nails in the completed shoe.

The present invention contemplates a ma 1 chine for carrying out these and similar operations uponsoles in a new and improved manner, with greater accuracy and with a greater capacity for producing flaps of different shapes than has been found in machines heretofore available. Such flaps, particular- 1y when formed on a sole for the purpose of covering the breast of a Louis heel, require to be formed accurately of a predetermined thickness which may be varied in a predetermined manner in difierent localities of the flap and must be out accurately to the required length. Thus flaps for the purpose stated are usually formed with a thickened portion close to their root, which may vary 39 in contour transversely of the sole from a thick central portion to a feather edge at the margin.

The invention is embodied in a machine including in its organization a pair of'feed' members which in a single cycle of the machine are moved first in one direction to feed the stock to a splitting knife to form the split and then in the opposite direction to .feed the split stock off the knife and out of the 1na- 49 chine. An important feature of the invention consists in providing at least one of the feed members in such a machine with a die portion arranged to act near the end of the feeding-in movement to deflect the material transversely of the knife edge as it is fed upon the knife to vary locally the thickness of the divided portions of the stock near the end of the split.

Another feature of the invention consists in a splitting machine in which a pair of feed members, one of which has a die portion, is moved first in one direction and then in the other in a single cycle of the machine, wherein the amount of movement may be regulated and adjusted to vary the length of the split without altering the position of the die portion in respect to the final infeeding position of the feed members. A machine organized in this fashion may be employed to produce flaps of various lengths, in all of which the root of the flap is similarly die-shaped at the same point regardless of its length. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the feed members comprise rolls, one of which is provided in its periphery with a die cavity, and the machine is so organized as to bring the rolls to the same relative position at the conclusion of their infeeding rotation, while differences in the length of the flap split are provided for by varying the initial position of the rolls at the commencement of their infeeding rotation.

In removing a piece of split stock from the machine in which a flap of more or less delicate character has been formed, it is desirable to release to some extent the pressure of engagement of the feeding rolls with the stock, as compared with the more severe pressure required in forcing the stock upon the splitting knife. The split stock is thus treated less severely in its outfeeding movement so that all tendency to damage the flap is avoided and at the same time the machine is relieved of any tendency to jam the work. With these considerations in view another feature of the invention comprises a machine of the kind described, including two rolls one of which has a die cavity, and means for rotating the rolls first in one direction and then .in the opposite direction, of means for automatically relaxing the pressure of the rolls upon the work substantially at the time of the reversal of rotation of the rolls while the work is in the die cavity.

These and other features of the invention will be best understood and appreciated from the following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, selected for purposes of illustration and shown in the accompanying d: awings, in which Fig. 1 is a view of the machine in side elevation;

Fig. 2 is a similar View, partly in section;

Fig. 3 is a view in front elevation;

Fig. t is a View in front elevation of the lower roll and its supporting mechanism;

Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line 55 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an end view in section, on an enlarged scale, of the rolls of the machine;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary view in elevation of the upper roll;

Fig. 8 is a view in side elevation of a part of a sole, illustrating the character of the flap formed by the machine; and

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of the sole on the line 9-9 of Fig. 8.

Tie illustrated machine comprises a frame 1 adapted to stand on a work-bench or pedestal. The frame has two side members or walls joined together by cross-members. The side members are formed with bearings for a horizontal driving shaft 2 extending across tl e machine. The driving shaft has rotatably mounted on it at its right hand end (Fig. a driving pulley 3 which may be connected to the shaft through a clutch controlled by a treadle mechanism of usual construction. The clutch is of the type which is arranged to stop the machine after a predetermined number of revolutions of the driving shaft, whether the clutch treadle is released or not, with the parts of the machine always in substantially the same position.

Fixed on the driving shaft 2 just inside the right-hand side frame member is a pinion 4 (Fig. 2) which meshes with a gear 5 fixed on a horizontal crankshaft 6, rotatably mounted in bearings on the side members and disposed parallel to the driving shaft 2 and behind and below that shaft. The ratio of the pinion d to the gear 5 is 1 to 3, so that the driving shaft 2 makes three revolutions to one of the crankshaft (5. The crankshaft 6 has lixed on its right-hand end (Fig. 3) a cam T which operates a lever 8 associated with the clutch mechanism to stop the clutch at the end of a single revolution of the crankshaft. Tie crankshaft 6 at its left-hand end has formed on it a crank disk carrying a crankpin 9 to which is connected one end of a connecting link 10. The link 10 extends upwardly and at its upper end is connected to a rearwardly extending arm 11 (Figs. 1 and 3) of a bell crank lever 12 which is pivotally mounted on the left-hand end (Fig. of a horizontal shaft 13 extending across the machine.

The shaft 13 is rotatably mounted in bearings on the side members and is directly above the driving shaft 2 (Fig. 1). The up per end of the link 10 is adjustable along the arm 11 of the bell crank lever 12 towards or from the pivot 13 of the lever. To this end the arm 11 is provided with a slot 1% to re ceive parts of two cooperating members carried by the link 10, which may be caused to grip the arm 11 between them. These two members are a sleeve 16 (Fig. 5) having a flange 15 and a second sleeve 18 having a flange 17, the arm 11 being embraced between the flanges. The sleeve 16 is rotatably mounted in a bore in the upper end of the link 10 and the sleeve 18 extends through the sleeve 16 and has a nut 19 threaded upon one of its ends. By turning this nut, the sleeve 18 may be drawn through the sleeve 16 to cause the arm 11 to be clamped between the flanges 15, 17. Passing axially through the sleeve 18 and rotatably mounted therein is a shaft 20 on one end of which is fixed a hand-wheel 21; and, at the opposite end and close to the arm, the shaft 20 has on it a pinion 22 which meshes with a segmental rack 23 fixed on the arm 11. By slackening the nut 19 and rotating the shaft 20 the upper end of the connecting link 10 may be adjusted along the slot of the arm 11 and then looked in position by tightening the nut.

The other arm 24: (Fig. 1) of the bell crank lever 12 extends dow vardly and has formed on its lower end a gear segment 25 which meshes with a pinion 26 loosely mounted on the driving shaft 2. Formed in one with the pinion 26 is a gear 27 which meshes with a gear 28 fixed on the shaft 13 on which the bell crank lever 12 is loosely mounted. Fixed on the opposite end of the shaft 13 is a gear 29 (Fig. which meshes with a gear 30 fixed on the right-hand end of the upper splitting-roll shaft 31. The gear 27 also meshes with a gear 32 fixed on the left-hand end of the lower splitting-roll shaft 33. Dur ing each revolution of the crankshaft 6 the splitting rolls are rotated, through the bell crank lever 12 and gears, first in one direction and then in the other to feed a workpiece to a substantially horizontal splitting knife 3d (Fig. 2), fixed in the frame of the machine behind the bite of the splitting rolls, and out again. The amount of such rotation of the splitting rolls and therefore the length of the split may be varied by adjusting the upper end of the connecting link 10 towards or from the pivot of the bell crank lever 12.

The upper roll 35, as will later be explained more in detail, is not a true cylinder, portions of its periphery being concentric with the axis of the shaft 31 upon which it is mounted and other portions being eccentric to said axis, one purpose of such construction being to produce a flap having a thickened base or root. This roll also has a cavity, the purpose of which is to cause the base or root of the flap to have an extra thickness at its longitudinal middle portion. The lower roll 43, as will later be explained more in detail, consists of a series of toothed feed disks spaced from one another. In order that the lllt thickened portion of the flap shall always be in the same place along the split in relation to the end of the split notwithstanding predetermined variations in the length of the split, the rolls must always finish their feeding-in movement in the same relation to the knife edge. In order to obtain this result, the slot 14 in the arm 11 of the bell crank lever 12 is concentric tothe crank pin 9 when the crankshaft 6 has made half a revolution from the starting position and, therefore, any adjustment of the upper end of the connecting link 10 along the arm 11 of the bell crank lever does not affect the position of the rolls relatively to the knife edge when they are at the end of their feeding-in movement.

The upper splitting roll 35 is formed on the shaft 31 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 36, fixed on an arm 37 extending forwardly from and pivoted loosely on the shaft 13 011 which the bell crank lever is mounted. Extending rearwardly from the upper rollcarrying arm 37 are two short arms 38 to which are connected the ends of two springs 39, the other ends of which are connected to the frame. The springs 39 hold the upper roll-carrying arm upwardly against a vertical stop screw 40 which is adjustably threaded through a boss 41 on one of the cross members of the frame in which it may be clamped in adjusted position. The screw 40 has fixed on its upper end a hand-wheel 42 by which it may be rotated; and the screw 40 may have on it a scale (not shown) and the boss 41 a mark to indicate the distance of the roll above the knife edge. The scale gives the distance of the knife above the roll in irons and the roll is set to give a flap of the desired thickness. The upper roll, when nearly in engagement with the knife edge, is about four and a half inches in front of and about two inches below the axis of the shaft 13 on which its carrying arm is mounted so that, when the roll is adjusted away from the knife edge, it moves upwardly and forwardly about the axis of the latter shaft, thus providing clearance for the work.

The lower roll 43 is fixed on the shaft 33 rotatably mounted in blocks 45, 45 at each end of the roll which are guided so as to have up and down movement in guideways in the side members of the frame. The guideways extend downwardly and forwardly at an angle of about 25 to the vertical. The blocks 45, 45 are fixed, one at each end, to a bar 46 extending across the machine, and the bar has fixed to it and extending downwardly from it two rods 47, 47. The rods 47, 47 have surrounding them springs 48, 48 which at their upper ends bear against collars 49, 49 adjustably mounted on the rods and at their lower ends against a second bar 50, in which the lower ends of the rods are guided, below and parallel to the bar 46. The rods 47, 47 pass through the second bar and have threaded on their lower ends nuts 51, 51 by which the lower roll may be adjusted towards or from the knife. The bar is fast to an upwardly and downwardly-extending rod 52, the upper portion of which is guided in a portion of the machine frame. The lower part of the rod is also guided in the frame and has on its lower end a rectangular block having through it a square hole which receives a block 54 on an eccentric portion 55 of a horizontal shaft 56 extending across the machine and rotatably mounted in bearings on the frame. The shaft 56 has fixed on It a wormwheel 57 which meshes with a worm 58 fixed on a worm-shaft 59 extending upwardly and rearwardly of the machine and rotatably mounted in the frame. Fixed on the forward end of the worm-shaft 59 is a hand-wheel 60 by which the shafts 59, 56, may be rotated to adjust the bottom roll and its supporting mechanism bodily towards or from the knife edge. To prevent the bottom roll from being adjusted up into engagement with the knife edge, and adjustable screw (not shown) is fixed in the frame so as to be engaged by the block on the rod. The shaft 56 has fixed on one end a pointer arm 61 which, when the shaft is adjusted, swings over a scale 62 on the outer face of the left-hand (Fig. 3) side member of the frame. This scale indicates the distance in irons of the lower roll below the knife edge.

The worm shaft 59 at its rear end has on it a head 63 which enters a recess in a cam bar 64. The cam bar 64 has in it a slot 65 through which the shaft 6 passes and has projecting from it a stud 66 which is slidably mounted in the frame. The cam bar 64 carries a cam roll 67 which is held against a cam 68 on the shaft 6 by a spring 69 surrounding the stud 66 and bearing against the end of the cam bar 64 and the frame. Nuts 70 on the stud 66 limit the movement of the cam bar 64 by the spring 69. After the shaft 6 has made half a revolution the feed rolls 35, 43 begin to feed the workpiece out of the machine, and the cam roll 67' begins to move from the high part to the low part of the cam 68. This movement of the roll 67 allows the shaft 59 to be moved forwardly of the machine by the spring 69; and this movement of the shaft, by bodily movement of the worm 58 and consequent rotation of the worm wheel 57, rotates the shaft 56 and, through the eccentric 55, lowers the bar 50 and reduces the pressure of the springs 48 which urge the lower roll upwardly towards the top roll. The pressure on the workpiece is thereby relieved and the workpiece the more easily fed out of the machine by the conjoint action of the rolls. If such a pressure relieving mechanism is not provided, upthrust of the lower roll upon the work, which the driving mechanism incidentally causes when the roll is reversed, may jam the work in the machine against the unyielding upper roll.

The machine with rolls as thus far described is adapted to form a flap which is of uniform thickness except for that portion near its root, said portion being thicker than the remaining portion and of an extra thickness along its longitudinal middle. The machine, however, is designed to form a flap such as is shown in Figs. 8 and 9, having a thin portion of uniform thickness at its outer end and a thicker portion near its root joined to the outer portion by a tapered portion and also having an extra thick portion at the longitudinal middle of its root. To this end, rolls such as are shown in Figs. 6 and 7 are used. The top roll 35 has a concentric surface from A to B and another concentric surface from C to D, the surface C to I) being of less radius than the surface A to B. The surface of the roll from B to C is eccentric to the axis of the roll, the roll diminishing in radius from B to C, and the surface from D to A is cam-shaped as shown but as this latter surface does not come into contact with the work its shape is immaterial. It has been explained above that the rolls are rotated first to feed the work to the knife and then to feed the work away from the knife; and this change in the direction of feed movement takes place before the work comes into engagement with any part of the surface D to A of the upper roll. The lower roll is built up of a number of toothed disks about one-eighth of an inch thick. lVashers about one-sixteenth of an inch thick are interposed between each pair of disks, and the teeth of alternate disks are staggered. The periphery of the lower roll 43, formed by the points of the teeth, is shaped to cooperate with the upper roll 35 in moving the work bodily crosswise of the knife edge, as it is being fed onto the knife, to form the tapered portion of the flap and to position the work in different horizontal planes as it is fed onto the knife to form the thin and thick portions of the flap.

In Figs. the rolls 35, 43 are shown in the relative position they occupy after the machine has operated on a workpiece and fed it out of the machine. When a workpiece is presented to the bite of the rolls and the machine is started, the workpiece is first engaged by part of the concentric portion A to B of the upper roll 35 and as the workpiece is fed onto the knife the thin portion 74 of uniform thickness of the flap is formed. The workpiece is next engaged by the eccentric portion B to C of the roll, and the tapered portion 75 is formed. Finally he workpiece is engaged by the concentric portion C to D of the roll and the thick portion 76 at the root of the flap is formed. The workpiece is then fed out of the machine. The upper roll 35 has in it a depression or die cavity 77 for forming a thickened portion 78 at the middle of the flap near the root thereof, the sole be ing forced into the depression by the teeth on the lower roll.

Fixed on the front of the frame is a table 71 over which the work is fed to the splitting rolls. The table extends nearly up to the bottom roil and has on it marks (not shown) by which the workpiece may be positioned laterally of the machine when presenting it to the rolls.

ii hen operating the machine, the upper end of the connecting link 10 is adjusted along the arm 11 of the bell crank lever 12 according to the length of split required. The upper splitting roll is adjusted towards or from the knife edge according to the thickness of the flap, or the thin portion thereof to be split, and the bottom roll is adjusted towards or from the knife edge so that between the rolls there is a gap slightly smaller than the thickncss of the workpiece. If, for instance, the workpiece is nine irons thick and it is desir d to form a flap two irons thick and three inches long, the upper end of the connecting link 10 is adjusted on the arm of the bell crank lever so that the splitting rolls are rotated just far enough to feed three inches of the workgiece onto the knife and oil again. i c upper roll is set above the knife edge so hat the thickness of the split flap is two irons ind the bottom roll is set down below the knife edge a distance a little less than seven irons so that the distance between the rolls is slightly less than the thickness of the workpiece; and, when the workpiece is introduced between the rolls, the lower roll yields slightly. One reason for separating the rolls as described, is to make the insertion of the work between them easy and, therefore, prevent possible damage to the end of the workpiece, but more particularly to insure that the proper length of split is obtained. If the 'ap between the rolls was always the same irrespective of the thickness of the work to be operated upon, it would be possible to present comparatively thin work further into the bite of the rolls than thicker work, and therefore the thicker work would not be fed so far onto the knife as the thinner work, and the split would be shorter, providing of course that the upper end of the connecting link remained in the same position along the arm of the bell crank lever It will be apparent that the upper roll 35 may be shaped appropriately to form a flap of whatever shape may be desired for the requirements of the work in hand and tha the portion thereof which transversely shapes the stock or workpiece may be formed as a cavity or as an elevation.

Certain subject-matter which has been disclosed herein is also disclosed in United States Letters Patent No. 1,836,149, granted December 15, 1931, upon an application filed November 27, 1929 in the name of William C. Baxter; and all subject-matter common to this application and the patent is claimed in the patent.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. A machine of the class described, having in combination a knife, a pair of rolls, driving mechanism for rotating the rolls first in a direction to feed the work to the knife and then in the opposite direction to withdraw the Work from the knife, and means for adjusting the driving mechanism to vary the extent of rotation of the rolls while maintaining them always in the same angular positions at the end of the feed movement.

2. A machine of the class described, having in combination a knife, a pair of feed rolls, driving mechanism for rotating the rolls first in a direction to feed a piece of work to the knife until two predeterminedlocalities on the peripheries of the rolls are in register with each other and then in the opposite direction to withdraw the Work from the knife, and means foradjusting the driving mechanism to vary the extent of rotation of the rolls while maintaining the same two localities in register at the end of the feedingin movement.

3. A machine of the class described, having in combination a knife, a pair of rolls. driving mechanism for rotating the rolls first in a direction to feed the work to the knife until two predetermined localities on the rolls enrespectively opposite localities on the work and then in the opposite direction to withdraw the work from the knife, and means for adjusting the driving mechanism to vary the extent of rotation of the rolls while maintaining them at the end of the feeding movemen with the same two localities in contact with the work.

4. A leather splitting machine comprising a knife, a pair of feed members including a roll for feeding stock to and from the knife. and. driving connections for rotating said roll in both directions constructed and arranged for adjustment for varying the extent of feeding movement of the roll without affecting its angular position at the extremity of its infeeding movement.

5. A leather splitting machine comprising a knife, a pair of rolls for feeding stock to and from the knife. and driving connections with said rolls including gears, a gear segment having a curved slot, an operating crank and a connecting rod adjustable along the slot of the segment, said slot being concentric with respect to the crank when the latter occupies its position corresponding to the extremity of infeeding movement of the rolls.

6. A leather splitting machine comprising a knife, feed rolls rotatable to advance the stock to a predetermined point with respect to the knife with the stock maintained in a flat condition and being shaped to bend the stock transversely thereafter in advancing it to a further point, and driving means actmg to reverse the rolls when the stock has reached said further point.

7. A leather splitting machine comprising a knife, a toothed feed roll, a cooperating feed roll having a matrix cavity therein at a predetermined point in its periphery, and driving means for rotating the rolls to advance the stock until said matrix cavity has acted upon its stock and for thereupon reversing said rolls to remove the stock from the knife.

8. A leather splitting machine comprising a knife, cooperating feed rolls, one of which has a side cavity at a predetermined point in its periphery, driving mechanism for rotating said rolls to advance the stock until it is acted upon by the die cavity and for thereupon reversing the rolls, and means for automatically relaxing the pressure of engagement of the rolls upon the stock substantially at the point of reversal.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

HAROLD ERNEST ELLIOTT.

CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION.

Patent No. 1,846,480. February 23, 1932.

HAROLD E. ELLIOTT.

it is hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification of the above numbered patent requiring correction as follows: Page 5, line 17, claim 1, for "feed" read feeding; line 78, claim 7, for "its" read the; and line 83, claim 8, for "side read die; and that the said Letters Patent should be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform to the record of the ease in the Patent Office.

Signed and sealed this 22nd day of November, A. D. 1932.

M. J. Moore,

(Seal) Acting Commissioner of Patents. 

